• According to Amilcar Cabral: ‘ A people who free themselves from foreign domination will not be culturally free, unless, without underestimating the importance of positive contribution from the oppressor’s culture and other cultures, they return to the upwards paths of their own cultures.’

• Similarly, way back in 1932, publisher and visionary TDM Skota editorialized: “The back bone of any nation is business”

• It is as apt and true now as it was then- 83 years ago-fellow Africans. We need to liberate ourselves for ourselves economically through the cultural weapon that it ITC. Digital television broadcasting generally, and particularly its mobile platform.

• This is likely to create a positive spin-off towards the long-elusive intra Africa trade such as in Southern Africa. This should trigger the domino-effect in

• South-South; south-west; west-east and west-south-east and central Africa – via COMESA.

• This has eluded the current generation of presidents, obsessed with self-preservation as opposed to job creation and innovative technological solution

• To the young people of Africa, I humbly say: ‘We need to innovate, and fast. And ITC,

via the digital migration of television, is an opportunity, or rather a call to arms to rise

to the occasion.’

75%

59%

40%

35%

25% 25%

5%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Searching the internet

Listening to music

Emails Listening to radio

Downloading videos

Watching movies

Other

What do you use your mobile phone for, other than making/receiving calls and messages? (Multiple selection)

The habit of viewing videos and movies on cell phones is already

instilled in the market

On average 3 times a day

On average 3 times a day

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Searching the internet

Emails Watching movies

Downloading videos

Listening to music

Listening to radio

Other, please specify

18-24 25-35 36-45 46-55 56+ Total

What do you use your mobile phone for, other than making/receiving calls and messages? (Multiple selection)

As expected the younger age groups are more likely to use their cell phones for internet purposes including video downloads and listening to music. And interesting finding is how much more

likely the older age groups are to use their cell phone for listening to the radio.

58%

50%

38%

33%

25%

21% 21%

0% 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Movies - Comedy

Youtube videos

Movies - Drama

Series Movies - Action

Sports News Other

Respondents indicated that on average 3 times a day they are accessing news,

videos etc. via their cell phones as they are away from their TV and need to stay

up to date.

You said you watch movies/download videos on your mobile phone. What type of movies/videos do you watch? (Multiple selection)

67%

56% 56%

44%

33%

22%

11%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Movies - Comedy

Youtube videos

Series Movies - Drama

Movies - Action

News Sports

You said you watch movies/download videos on your mobile phone. What type of movies/videos do you watch? (Multiple selection)

The sample sizes on the other age groups for this particular

question were too small to show n< 5

• The table below shows the key period of growth for Facebook users in a selection of Sub-Saharan African countries, from those with smaller usage levels in Sierra Leone at one end to countries like Nigeria and South Africa.

• The green column in the table shows current levels of Facebook users estimated by Facebook’s advertising sales platform:

Country Aug-10 Apr-11 Oct-11 Dec-11 May-12 Jun-12 Oct-12 Dec-12 Mar-14

South Africa 3,100,000 3,800,000 4,400,000 4,800,000 4,700,000 4,960,000 6,500,000 6,260,000 10,200,000

Nigeria 1,700,000 2,900,000 3,800,000 4,300,000 4,600,000 5,860,000 6,700,000 6,600,000 12,000,000

Kenya 864,760 1,030,000 1,300,000 1,290,000 1,390,000 1,400,000 1,970,000 2,040,000 3,800,000

Ghana 621,000 906,540 1,000,000 1,140,000 1,240,000 1,280,000 1,670,000 1,630,000 2,400,000

Senegal 299,340 447,840 578,880 620,260 660,080 665,880 678,420 675,820 1,020,000

Uganda 196,000 280,600 330,780 346,980 206,100 414,260 532,920 562,240 1,180,000

Tanzania 141,580 259,120 352,000 414,540 497,940 518,460 676,420 705,460 1,340,000

Botswana 86,060 112,180 138,140 167,180 218,100 223,660 286,740 294,000 460,000

Angola 63,860 112,180 277,640 322,300 421,960 433,520 597,460 645,460 1,800,000

Zambia 56,640 117,520 157,760 177,820 228,940 235,700 320,280 327,600 700,000

Malawi 46,660 79,040 95,820 112,100 134,700 139,540 209,300 203,840 360,000

Namibia 15,100 127,260 123,820 134,149 84,100 172,400 231,720 231,340 380,000

Sierra Leone 8,780 34,100 44,760 48,520 57,080 58,040 73,680 76,880 148,000

Source: Social Bakers (2010 - 2013) and Facebook advertising platform 2014

Develop and share in compelling multilingual content across all digital platforms. SADC is an ideal region to kick-start this kind of initiative as the main languages spoken across colonial borders are:- • Afrikaans (RSA and Namibia) • English (Botswana, Namibia, RSA, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi). • German (Namibia and RSA) • isiNdebele (RSA and Zimbabwe) • isiSwati (RSA and Swaziland) • isiZulu (RSA, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique) • Portuguese ( Angola, RSA and Mozambique) • Sesotho (Lesotho, RSA, Zimbabwe and Namibia) • Setswana (Botswana, Namibia and RSA), Tshivenda (RSA and Zimbabwe) and Xitsonga & related dialects (RSA and Mozambique) Proactive Pan African broadcasters are called upon to create to resonate with the above landscape to greater inter-cultural and symbiotic economic exchanges.

Yes, we have more in common culturally, linguistically and socio-economically than any other region in Africa. It is time to declare as Bob Marley has eloquently stated that: ‘None but ourselves can liberate our minds.’ And as Shakespeare put it: ‘The fault is not in our stars that we are underlings, but in ourselves.’ It was another composer, Enoch Mankayi Sontonga, who earlier laid the foundation for my thesis when he penned a prayer for all of Africa rather than his homeland, and called it tellingly: Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica – God Bless Africa. Its echoes can be heard in the national anthems beyond South Africa, in Zambia and

Tanzania, and at one time in Zimbabwe as well. Culture matters, people.

No other image captures more splendidly the collective passion, energy, wonder, mystery and beauty of Africa, its peoples, better than Our Continental Matriarch Mosi-ao Tunya, the epitome of the flora and fauna of our natural convergence. Isn’t it time the heads of SADC reaffirmed and reclaimed our mother in her own right simply and decolonized simply as Mosi-oa-Tunya Falls? How about a farewell birthday gift to Africa, President Mugabe? This would inspire youthful creative artists to retell digitally Gogo Mosi-oa-Tunya in all the tongues of the region, instead of dabbling in meaningless soapies and tele-novellas? Indeed, Africa’s prosperity is our collective business.